D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 90 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,176.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,121.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,035.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.